Functional Medicine – Getting to the Root Cause

Functional Medicine- Getting to the Root Cause

Dr. Laura is back!

Unfortunately, building a functional medicine wellness center over the past 3 years has left little time to continue my blog on a regular basis. I have been working with my team to refine our protocols to offer a comprehensive team approach to help our clients with chronic conditions. I am back and ready to get rolling again!

If you have followed my blog in the past, you are already aware of my internal struggle between the traditional health care system as we know it and the growing body of evidence that supports the connection between chronic disease, our toxic American diet and environmental toxins.

It’s sounds so ridiculously simple. I spent the equivalent of 12 years in various traditional health care training programs learning how to diagnose and treat disease, to finally come to the realization that most of the chronic disease we encounter in our society is food-borne. And that our food is medicine. To be perfectly honest, it is much easier just to write a prescription. Frankly, that’s what many people want, the “magic pill” rather than to commit to making comprehensive lifestyle changes. Despite this harsh reality, I finally took the the leap of faith to stand with a growing team of health care professionals across the nation who share the same vision.

From my perspective, one of the biggest strengths in the FM model is the search for underlying triggers….looking for the WHY of medicine. So many times we solely blame genetics on many of the chronic diseases we see. While genetic predisposition may be one layer of the onion, there are many other modifiable triggers for disease. The best example I see every single day is Hashimotos thyroiditis. From my traditional endocrinology background, Hashimotos is primarily treated with thyroid hormone, which I now realize is merely applying a band-aid to the wound. Hashimotos is an immune mediated disease, thus, the key to managing Hashimotos is not only to support the immune system, but to figure out what is triggering the immune response. Stayed tuned for more cutting edge information on this topic in the weeks to come!

Optimal Wellness for Life

Our center, Optimal Wellness for Life, opened 3 years ago with the vision of helping our clients “peel back the layers of the onion” by treating the root cause. The most common underlying triggers to chronic disease and symptoms we see are food sensitivities, gastrointestinal imbalance, chronic viral infections, toxins and stress. Yes, STRESS! Stress is one of the biggest underlying triggers for inflammation and chronic disease that we see and is the primary reason that we expanded our services to include Relaxation and Life Balance Services.

Our Functional Medicine services have evolved since our initial opening in 2014 to include a comprehensive team approach, led by Dr. Laura Ruby, DNP, CRNP who is an IFM Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner with 13 years of general endocrinology experience. Our team includes a Registered Dietitian trained in functional nutrition, several certified integrative nutrition coaches and our growing administrative team to better meet your needs.

The Ozone at Optimal Wellness for Life

Earlier this year we embarked on a new journey. Because we recognize that STRESS and MIND-BODY-SPIRIT imbalance are major triggers for chronic conditions we have expanded to include holistic relaxation and stress management services such as Massage, Acupuncture, Guided Meditation and Group Yoga. Our Integrative Life Balance program includes Life Coaching and Counseling Services. Come to one of OPENHOUSES to learn more about our approach at Optimal Wellness for Life and the few services we are offering at the Ozone.